This post has been a long time in the making. Its a personal post. Something I don’t do often. Talk about myself on a website even though it is my literal name dot com. I just don’t do it. But this time I have to. This year I have decided to do everything that calls my name. Anything that has a pull on me, I’m doing. I went to Mystic (a photographer seminar in January in Portland Oregon), I’m going to Paris in July, and maybe I’ll head out again when I have a few weeks off in October. This year is my year of yes. I’ve made hundreds of friends this year and no small part of that is thanks to #yeahfieldtrip, which took place in Santa Barbara in March. Its been a few months and wedding season has come upon me, so forgive me if my brain is a little fried, but I had the best time. I spent four days in the hills of the cost with 350 other photographers who are passionate about their work. Sometimes its hard to do this job. People don’t respect you, your time, your talent and the amount of effort it takes to start a business and fall back on nothing else. No husband, no other job skills. Just me, just weddings. At Field trip there were hundreds of other people who just get-it. Its hard when no one in your life “gets it.” But these people, their passion and drive.. they get it. They get the ups which are easy to talk about and they get the lows and the not so good stuff that comes along with being a person who owns a business and therefore misses out on so many of their own important moments in life in order to document someone else’s. And I love it. I do. But sometimes, I wake up on the wrong side of the bed, theres a 100 emails, and garbage to take out, and nothing in the fridge and the heat turned off again.. and I don’t love it. I can’t leave my office and turn work off for the day. I am my job. All. The. Time.

Field Trip was a refresher. It was classes and lots of non-classes and so much learning from other people in the industry who want to share. It can be a difficult thing in our field, to find people who want to share. I love a symbiotic relationship of giving and receiving and thats what I got. I had classes with so many photographers that I admire, and met some great new ones. I made a ton of friends who I feel so connected to, and re-inspired in my own work. I can absolutely say that since Field Trip my work has grown exponentially. Cabins with my awesome roommates, walks to the cold California beach, sitting in a hot meadow, walks to llamas, eating breakfast lunch and dinner with a ton of people who are just awesome. There were several parties, I’m not going to lie, which I have evidence of tagged on Facebook, with a ton of dirt in my fro, and a huge smile on my face. I loved Field Trip and I can’t wait to get back next February. Same place, a month earlier, and more awesome times. I spent two weeks after traveling to Pam Springs and San Diego to visit friends, and had the best three continuously awesome weeks of my life.

If there is one thing in life I value above anything is new experiences with amazing and grateful people. This is Field trip in a nutshell.